Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

As soon as I saw the press release of this cookbook, I knew it would be fun! I mean look at that cover. How could you not love that! The truth is, Bite Me is a fairly unconventional cookbook, probably quite a bit different from most cookbooks you own, and maybe most appealing to the younger crowd, though we older folks enjoy a bit of humor too.

Written by sisters and self proclaimed passionate eaters and skilled feeders, Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat, you'll find a wide range of recipes to suit just about any appetite.

"Life's too short to

stuff a mushroom."

~Shirley Conran, Author

Scattered about the cookbook are quirky quotes like that called "Bite Me Bits," many of them from movies. A quote from Winonna Ryder in the 1994 movie Reality Bites, "He's so Cheesy, I can't watch him without crackers," is alongside a recipe for Creamy White Bean Spread with Asiago Crackers (that will literally make you hungry just looking at them). There is some silly photo styling, a variety of toys posed with pictures of recipes, and just plain funny images scattered about the cookbook that will truly have you laughing out loud.

The chapters are divided up by category, ranging from Appetizers to Dessert, but with titles like Grab Me (Appetizers), unDress Me (Salads), Meet Me (Meat), and Fork Me (Desserts). The recipes all sound pretty good to me and I have plenty of them bookmarked to try.

Crunchy Tortilla Chicken with Avocado Dip

You'll find appetizers like Slacker's Stacked Sushi, and Dyn-o-Mite! Asian Meatballs made with hoisin and apricot jam in the chapter Grab Me. UnDress Me offers up Strawberry Salad with Sugared Almonds and Chopped Greek Salad as just two of several salad courses you'll find.

H-Crusted Beef Tenderloin

In Respect Me, the section on veggies, you can find offerings like Crispy Baked Zucchini Chips and Parmesan Crusted Asparagus. Crave Me, the pasta section, has a Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pasta that sounds fantastic, and a Deep Dish Meat Lasagna to tempt your taste buds.

Fantastic 4 Mushroom and Cheese Lasagna

For the section on the bird, Gobble Me has Smokin' BBQ Chicken, Magical Moroccan Grilled Chicken and Bang-On Roasted Turkey Breast, while Catch Me brings you recipes like Crunchy Baked Sea Bass and Sweet Citrus and Spiced Salmon. Meet Me, the chapter for meat lovers, features Braised Beef Short Ribs and Beef Fajitas with Southwestern Rice.

Apple Coleslaw

In Join Me, you'll find brunch foods, where I have to tell you I fell completely in love with Sweet Noodle Pudding - Exposed! Being a rice pudding gal and not a noodle pudding consumer, I had never eaten the sweet noodle dish made with egg noodles that you hear about during the Jewish holidays. I not only made this recipe once, but twice just a few weeks apart from one another, and just thinking about it makes me crave it again. It is downright addictive - who knew?!

Sweet Noodle Pudding - My New Addiction!

You'll also find recipes like Apple Streusel Muffins, and Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread there as well as the Twinkorette Peach Crumb Cake. In Fork Me, the section on desserts, you'll can choose from recipes like Naughty-Turned Nice Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing and Easy as Pie Strawberry Apple Crisp, among many others.

Chunky White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies (psst.. you can find these on the site.)

The Twinkorette Peach Crumb Cake was born out of a need to find a substitute for the out of control addiction that Julie, one of the authors, had for Twinkies. The recipe isn't really Twinkle-like but it is marvelous with sliced peaches spread between layers of a sour cream cake batter, producing a delicious dessert that was nice and moist, with a just right little bit of a crunch on top. Great on its own, I decided to sift a light layer of powdered sugar on top, which was a perfect accent, though I think a glaze made with the juices of the canned peaches would also be excellent drizzled on top.

351 comments:

The title of this cookbook is so "me"! I say, "Bite me!" so much that hubby bought me a coaster to go in my car cup holder with a picture of a shark saying it. Sharks just happen to be another passion of mine...make that the morbid curiosity of sharks is my passion :D So appropriate since we live at the beach ~lol~

Pick Me! Please, please!! You tempted me waaayyyy too much with the pics you posted! I love your site and have passed it on to my friends both here in NC and all the way to family in CA. They love southern cooking and yours was the best site to offer them!

Sounds like you may be right about it being geared towards a younger crowd...but I happen to know you CAN teach an old dog a new trick! I would love to try some of the recipes so please be sure to pass along a couple that you try and like. I have used your recipes and passed your link all down the Texas Gulf coast,lol from Orange Tx. to Galveston my girlfriends and I love to gather at the beach house with our latest finds from DeepSouthDish. I also couldn't resist getting a few of the cookbooks you refer to in your Cajun section and I have shared them with my girl friends also. I look forward to trying new things...bring them on!

I love cookbooks and I am always trying out new recipes on my family. My cookbook collection is growing and "Bite Me" would be a great addition, especially since Deep South Dish is now a daily must visit site. Southern Tennessee girl here.

I've got your website - so when you pick me to win this fantastic sounding cook book, I'm giving it to my favorite Aunt! The woman 'reads cookbooks' instead of novels! She is a fantastic cook and absolutely treasures everyone she has!

*jumps up and down, with hand raised* PICK ME, PICK ME!!! There's no such thing as too many cookbooks, right? Well, that's what I tell my hubby anyway ;) Not sure what I enjoy most about this one, the title or the YUMMY recipe you shared from it.

I LOVE this site and the recipes look absolutely amazing....would LOVE to have the cookbook, especially since I am 'known' for saying "Bite Me"!....it was my "Whatever" back in the day, lol =Drisamac45@yahoo.com

My 2 favorite words, Bite Me. Funny how they can mean different things. I love to collect cookbooks and even have my grandmothers 1928 Watkins Cookbook. I will pass them on to my daughters one day along with all my favorite recipes.

Sweet noodle pudding sounds like it may be similar to Noodle Kugel. It has sugar and cottage cheese, mixed in with the noodles. Anyway it is super yummy. Mom serves it with sliced baked ham and lima beans with kugel. OMG good eats Mary. Sounds like a wonderful cookbook to add to my ever growing collection. = )

Oh Mary! Those tortilla chicken strips with avocado dip instantly made my mouth water. These recipes sound amazing and great for entertaining! Thanks for the review! I will definitely check this book out!

I love reading cookbooks and once in a while like to cook from them! Seriously, I find I am getting tired of the same old meals and have been venturing out of my "safe" zone to discover new things to cook. This book looks as if it will give many new things to try. Thanks for sharing it.Kathy

love your site and visit often...when i saw this cookbook, i thought of my bff, she is always saying..BITE ME..i would love to win this cookbook and be able to give it to her..maybe she would cook me up something great to eat from the recipes she would find

I have this cookbook and I can't recommend it highly enough! Those Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk cookies are AMAZING buy the cookbook and make them IMMEDIATELY! I have yet to make anything from this book that my family doesn't love.

I too collect cookbooks ( I have over 400) and this immediately became a well used favorite.

DSD is at the top of my list that gets checked at least once a day! And "Bite Me" looks like a cookbook that will stay right by my chair! I look through cookbooks like others read magazines! and thanks again for a great site!

Oh, please pick me! My DH loves cookbooks and is a big fan any new one. He would so love to have this one. He is getting to be a terrific cook and loves to do the gourmet thing. Love your blog and I am always printing and using yours, much to his delight.

Having been born and raised in the Deep South, I have a "thing" for feeding people! Nothing is more soothing and relaxing for me than to read a cookbook and pick out new recipes to "wow" my family and friends with. I would L-O-V-E to have add this one to my collection, it's sounds fun, quirky and right up my alley! Thanks! =))

I'm so homwesick for Waveland, that surely this cookbook is my only hope for happiness this far away. We moved to Tallahasssee after Hurriane Katrina, and have been pining ever since. We come home as often as possible and gorge on all our favorite Deep South Dishes ! Thanks so much for your site, as I can still cook like I was in my Waveland kitchen !

This is my very favorite site on facebook!! The recipes are just like my Mom's. She passed away in a car accident when I was 18 and even though she had tried to teach me her secrets like her French Toast~~I was to stubborn to learn. Your recipes are just like hers and bring back great memories!!!! I love it!!!

I have a theory...a person can never own too many cookbooks. Even though we have access to the entire world on the internet, and recipes appear before our eyes at the touch of a button....there is just something about having a book in your hand. I always have a cookbook, or 2 or 3, by my bed. Makes for good reading before sleep and for good dreams!

ok. I want it!! I check your website constantly searching for new delish things to cook. It's my "go to" when I am making my grocery list of meals to make for the week. This cookbook looks like it could make a few of my meals itself!!!!!

I just recently found this site and I am enamored!The pictures and descriptions from this cookbook are very intriguing and sound like some things I would definitely try.Hope I'm one of the lucky ones!Thanks for your blog--it truly is wonderful.

Please toss my name into the hat for a chance to win this delightful looking book. I'm a big cookbook collector, and love to cook and bake, as well as read them like I would a novel. I'm a huge fan of your blog and enjoy all your super recipes. My Mother was born and raised in Mississippi, so I know good cooking! Thanks for the entry in your giveaway.

omg!! I have to have this cookbook! my favorite saying is-bite me! ahahaha- catchy name for this cookbook-oh and the recipes sound so yummy!! gotta get one! love your site..love your recipes...I think I gain weight just looking at them-let alone make them! but they are wonderful good!thanks! robin

Love to hear about a cookbook written with a sense of humor. Some cookbooks are so serious the recipes make me nervous! This one sounds like it would make cooking more fun than it usually is for me (not fun). HA

First of all, LOVE your blog. I quickly subscribed to it after stumbling upon it. I am in Culinary school right now and for one of my classes we had to create a blog and I decided to do mine about growing up in the south and the food we ate. I saw this post about this cookbook and it looks great! I like that its quirky and different than your normal cookbook. I would love to add this one to my growing collection.

What a great site. Love it and will add it as one of my favorites. "Bite Me!" cookbook is a hilarious and insightful cookbook. They recipes are simple and easy to follow. I love the vegetarian chili. One of the best. I would love to win a free cookbook. Thanks for the chance. Looking forward to visiting you site offen.

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

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Hey Y’all! Welcome to some good ole, down home southern cooking. Pull up a chair, grab some iced tea, and 'sit a bit' as we say down south. If this is your first time visiting Deep South Dish, you can sign up for FREE updates via EMAIL or RSS feed, or you can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter too!

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. ~Julia Child

The classic southern plate for supper is made up of meat and three, cornbread or rolls & a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

Oftentimes what makes a recipe southern, is as much a state of mind as it is a matter of geography - Southerners simply decide a particular food is southern, and that's that." ~Rick McDaniel, Food Historian

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